The Last of Us: Training Manuals Locations Guide

Improve Joel’s crafting skills by finding every training manual in The Last of Us using this handy locations guide. Every training manual serves a different purpose, but they all upgrade your crafting abilities by extending the use of items, giving better effects, and more.

These manuals can be found in almost every chapter, and make the later stages of the game much easier if you’ve got the patience to hunt them down. Get the “I Got This” trophy and inch closer to Platinum, get the guide below.

Looking for step-by-step survival instructions? Get our sneaking tips and combat tricks for every chapter on the Last of Us walkthrough. For more collectible locations, trophy guides, unlockables and extras explore the in-depth articles on the Last of Us cheats.

Training Manuals Locations Guide

Chapter 4: Bill’s Town

Manual #1: Shiv: Sharpening – At the start of the Safe House section, look on the bar just as it turns right ahead.

Chapter 5: Pittsburg

Manual #2: Health: Splinting – After taking care of the enemies at the beginning of the chapter and moving into the garage through the shutter, continue up the stairs one story and enter the room on the right. Look on the metal shelves to find this manual.

Manual #3: Shiv: Reinforcement – Climb the ladder after moving it to reach the second floor of the hotel, then look right until finding the elevator lobby. There’s a note with a combination to a safe. Find the safe behind the first floor counter.

Manual #4: Melee: Knots – Continue up the hotel until reaching a hallway with ATMs on the right and drinking fountains on the left. Move straight down the hall and look on the wooden table with an overturned chair sitting on top.

Manual #5: Molotov: Construction – Meeting with Sam and Henry, look on the counters of the apartment’s kitchen to find this manual.

Chapter 6: The Suburbs

Manual #6: Bomb: Containment – Swimming through the sewers after leaving the shore, Joel can climb a ladder and continue forward until stumbling into a noisy trap. Continuing forward, there’s a metal shelf with supplies on the left of path. You’ll find the manual there.

Manual #7: Melee: Techniques – In the abandoned neighborhood, look for a slightly raised house with steps leading up to fenced front yard. Go upstairs, and interact with the attic door. It’ll fall off — send Ellie up there, and she’ll toss you the manual.

Chapter 7: Tommy’s Dam

Manual #8: Smoke: Chemistry – After meeting up with Joel’s brother and following him through the compound, you’ll pass by a resting dog before going inside where two engineers are discussing plans. On the left side of the console just behind the two, you’ll find the manual.

Chapter 8: The University

Manual #9: Health Kit Sterilization – Entering the huge plaza between buildings in the University, where monkeys will retreat as you arrive, enter the building on the right. There are two busted windows leading into a stairwell. Move up the stairs on story, then jump out onto the tiled roof. There’s another open window to the left, leading into a room. On the desk near the windows, you’ll find this tricky manual.

Manual #10: Molotov: Deployment – Climbing into the building through the window reached by a truck, run down the hallway to find a shiv door. Crack open the locked door with a shiv, and enter the lab. The manual is on one of the tables.

Chapter 9: Lakeside Resort

Manual #11: Smoke Shaping – Switching back to Joel near the town, you’ll start next to a gas station. Cross the street to find an open hotel room. Jump into the alley behind the hotel accessed through a window in the bathroom, and turn left. There’s a shack with a locked door. Use a shiv to open the door, and grab the manual inside.

Chapter 10: Bus Depot

Manual #12: Bombs: Shrapnel – Continuing further into the tunnels infested by infected, you’ll encounter two Bloaters among other Runners. There’s a white truck with a red horse emblazoned on the side; the manual is on top.

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5 Comments on The Last of Us: Training Manuals Locations Guide

ZephyrTuvai

On June 14, 2013 at 6:18 pm

I have a small recommendation in regards to how the collectibles/secrets/trophy steps and etc are done on this site.

While It’s nice to have the concise “This list is for these, this list is for these” format that GameFront is currently using in regards to their collectibles and extra’s guides, and am by no means saying that the format shouldn’t stick around, I do have to say that an… “All In One” guide would be an exceptional list to add.

As an example, for Last of Us alone, there are guide’s for safes, comics, artifacts, firefly bling, stab doors, training manuals, and even the hidden conversation pieces. All are organized by chapter for easy reference. This is great.

However, If I’m trying to reference these guides as I’m actively playing the game, it involves alot of web page switching, or multi-tabbing in order to have all the relevant data accessible to me as I go through the game, chapter by chapter.

TL;DR, while the current format is excellent, in real practice It’d be a lot more convenient to have an “All-In-One Missables” Guide. Organized by chapter, and the standard play through of a chapter, it would list all missables in order that you come across them as you progress through each section of the a given game.

I sure hope this gets seen. Anyway. I haven’t seen anything like this before other then in a subsection of a walk through or on it’s own Secret/Missable FAQ. It would be incredibly convenient to the average gamer.

Kevin Thielenhaus

On June 17, 2013 at 12:29 pm

@ZephyrTuvai,

Don’t worry, we listen! You make a lot of good points, and it’s a plea I totally understand. Right now, the pages are primarily written in a format for people that aren’t really familiar with Game Front, that might be searching for guides but aren’t actively watching us. That’s great for some readers looking for specific guides, and not so great for other readers that have to bring up all the articles at once — and that’s a problem I want to rectify.

Thanks so much for your well-reasoned comment! Criticism is always welcome here.

If you return to a previous chapter to retrieve a collectable do you have to finish the chapter to retain the collectable? Do you have to start the latest chapter again to make use of the manual? I’m trying to determine if it’s worth going back for the missing manuals.

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